Under-18 Six Nations Festivals Return In April

As a vital development platform for the Women’s and Men’s game, the festivals offer young players, coaches and match officials an important opportunity to gain international rugby experience, share knowledge across the group of teams, and be part of a competitive high-performance environment.

The Under-18 Festivals also offer a critical platform to enter or continue the journey on the rugby pathway, which leads up to the Under-20 level and paves the way to follow in the footsteps of those lighting up the Six Nations stage at the elite senior level.

The U-18 Men’s Festival will this year feature Georgia and Spain, as part of the ongoing commitment to use the festival platform to support emerging nations and foster development across the game.

The video below shows just some of the tries scored by the Ireland U-18 Men’s and Women’s teams in last years tournaments, and the development goals are highlighted by the first try which is scored by Alma Atagamen, who is now a member of Scott Bemand’s Ireland squad for the Guinness Women’s Six Nations.

Beyond the on-pitch action, the festivals are capturing the attention of fans, with 2,000 new subscribers to the Six Nations U-20 YouTube channel that streamed the festivals last year and generated nearly three million impressions.

The channel will offer fans access to the festivals this year, as well as dedicated coverage and content across the Six Nations Rugby social media channels.

With the Guinness Women’s Six Nations showing year on year growth, and the 2025 Championship kicking off a landmark year for the Women’s game, the U-18 Women’s Festival is a key point on the development pathway for young players inspired by the feats of the senior players taking to the stage in the Women’s Championship.

For the U-18 Women’s Festival at Wellington College, each team will play a total of five matches. Match days 1 and 2 will feature 35-minute matches, with 12 matches taking place across these days. On match day 3, each team will play one 70-minute match.

The U-18 Men’s Festival will be staged at the home of Fédérale 3 club RC Vichy, Stade Municipal Louis Darragon, with three match days on Thursday April 10, Monday, April 14, and Friday, April 18. Each team will play three 70-minute games across the campaign.

The 2024 U-18 Six Nations Festivals featured over 380 players and more than 120 coaches and staff members, with this year’s festivals looking to build on the momentum the events are generating.

The impact of the festivals extends far beyond the pitch. Since 2018, over 280 players have progressed from the U-18 Festivals to the U-20 Six Nations Championship, proving these events are a crucial springboard for young talent.

Commenting on the U-18 Six Nations Festivals, Julie Paterson, Chief of Rugby at Six Nations Rugby, said:

The U-18 Six Nations Festivals are a hugely important development platform for players, coaches, support staff and match officials.

“The festivals have established themselves in the calendar, creating clarity and consistency in terms of opportunities to gain valuable experience in the international environment.

“With Georgia and Spain bringing their own unique style and flair to the U-18 Men’s Festival this year, adding to the competition and experience, this is testament to the collaboration across the game to support the development and its ability to raise the entire game to new heights.

“The festivals provide an invaluable international rugby experience, and huge thanks goes to both the FFR and the RFU for hosting this year’s festivals.”

Fans can attend each of the festivals in England and France with free access on offer for the U-18 Women’s event. Tickets are available at all three match days of the U-18 Men’s festival, costing €10 for a match day or €20 for all three match days.

Click here for the U-18 Women’s Festival fixtures, while the schedule of U-18 Men’s games is available to view here.